Month: April 2018

Perrysburg remains Wood County’s most economically diverse and thriving community and is one of Northwest Ohio’s best magnets for economic and business growth. It remains one of the best places to own real estate in the county and region. When it comes to “economic gardening,” no other community in Northwest Ohio is as successful in providing residents, business owners, and entrepreneurs with innovation-based economic development tools. Downtown Perrysburg Inc. and the Perrysburg Chamber of Commerce help to ensure the City’s B2B (business to business) networks thrive.

The City of Perrysburg – Wood County’s most economically diverse and thriving community.

The facts that support this claim are:

Perrysburg’s residential growth has increased 21.7% since 2000, and is the fastest growing community in the region. State average for residential growth in the last ten years was 1.7%.

According to a recent study, Wood County was ranked as one of America’s Top Ten Small-Sized Counties (FEC Inc., 2012.). The ranking considers several measures within five areas: Investment, Talent, Sustainability, Place, and Diversity. These five areas serve as a foundation for future economic success.

According to Stats America, Wood County has a 10-year per capita personal income (PCPI) growth of 7.3%, the highest in the region.

Residents spend $3,500 more per capita on retail items than state average. According to the US Census, per capita income is $37,813, a 32% increase from the state average.

Median household income from 2008-2012 averaged $69,341, a 30% increase from the state average, and one of the highest household incomes in the region.

Median value of owner-occupied housing is $192,600, a 30% increase from the state average; Perrysburg has one of the highest housing values in the region.

Over the last two years, Perrysburg has had more multi-family housing units under development than any other community in the region. This type of housing is extremely important in attracting young professionals and providing businesses with a diverse base of employees¹.

Recognizing the importance of its growing community, the Ohio Sea Grant College Program and Ohio State University Extension collaborated with the City of Perrysburg to conduct a Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) Program. Because of this applied research effort, local leaders are better equipped to assist business needs in the city to achieve their growth objectives and to improve the overall business environment for the City of Perrysburg’s business community.

As a result of the BR&E program, the City of Perrysburg learned that:

Forty businesses plan to expand, modernize or renovate their businesses with firms planning to add jobs within the next 12 months. These firms will add between 58-177 new full-time equivalent jobs.

177 new jobs are estimated to represent $101,063 in additional income tax revenue and would contribute an estimated $6,737,505 in personal income to Perrysburg’s local economy.

Jobs are projected as being added in the professional services, retail and commercial service sectors. 116 businesses plan to retain up to 2,880 full-time equivalent jobs.

The BR&E program in Perrysburg aims to:

Identify and address concerns and issues of existing businesses by creating a value-chain of partners, including local and state government as well as private organizations and enterprises.

Identify opportunities to stimulate local job growth, and establish and maintain long-term relationships among public and private entities associated with the Perrysburg local economy.

To learn more about the City of Perrysburg BR&E program, see the final report. Click here to learn more about the Ohio BR&E Program.

Vacant parcels and abandoned properties are a big problem for many of Ohio’s cities, some that have been shrinking for decades as a result of sustained population loss. Blighted properties that litter the urban landscape can cost cities millions in lost property taxes, foreclosures and demolition costs, not to mention opportunity costs to local economies. A report by Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) in 2008 on eight shrinking cities in Ohio estimated annual costs of city services to these properties at 15 million dollars, and lost property tax revenues from demolitions and tax delinquencies at over 49 million dollars.

Abandoned property

Lima, the Allen county seat, is an example of a city facing the challenge of hundreds of vacant and abandoned properties. Over the past two years, faculty and students from OSU’s Knowlton School, in collaboration with OSU Lima and the City of Lima Land Bank, have piloted a program, the Ohio Land Exchange (OH/LEX), to address the vacancy problem in Lima. They have surveyed and mapped hundreds of tax delinquent parcels, which, according to Lima’s Mayor Berger, has “provided Lima vacancy patterns and demotion needs, as well as detailed maps of locations, flood plains, and potential reuses” (link). The team also engaged over a dozen local non-profits who have been meeting regularly to explore beneficial ways to reuse the properties.

Reaching a consensus on land reuse priorities

In the past year, Knowlton School expanded the partnership to include OSU Extension, holding a workshop in May 2017 to introduce the program to Extension Educators statewide. Extension is providing the boots on the ground needed to take the initiative from mapping and data collection to project implementation. Data has helped to inform stakeholders about property locational assets or liabilities, including soil conditions or proximity to bus stops, to determine potential forms of reuse and appropriate locations. One of these stakeholders is Activate Allen County, a non-profit organization formed in 2012, tasked with improving the health and well-being of Lima and Allen County residents. The organization conducted a food system assessment which found that 53% of Lima citizens reside in a food desert, the region has the second highest obesity rate in Ohio, and almost 11% of its residents suffer from diabetes. The proposed implementation project is the result of numerous meetings with local stakeholders to reach a consensus on land reuse priorities, including food system improvements.

Funding support has come from a 2017 Connect and Collaborate grant that supported increased and strengthened stakeholder engagement and formulation of a plan for Lima. Another grant, currently under review, would provide support for a phased food systems implementation strategy, to create a temporary “food and entrepreneurship lab” and to conduct a market analysis for a permanent food hub. The second phase, dependent on the outcome of the first phase, is the development of a permanent food hub. The food and entrepreneurship lab includes the design and build of a model urban garden and community space on vacant land near the city center. Concurrently, a market analysis will be conducted to identify the impact, needs and potential uses for a permanent food hub based on existing retail sales data, data gathered at the lab, and surveys of local residents.

As a pilot location, Lima will demonstrate the costs and benefits of the OH/LEX program and its potential value for other cities in Ohio. Do you see a need in your city?

Nancy Bowen is an Associate Professor & Extension Field Specialist, Community Economics.

My brother Bill’s birthday is approaching. He’s three years younger than I am, but probably 10 years wiser. He’s my best friend… and often keeps me balanced when things get crazy. (Think: overscheduling, kids driving, etc.) In addition, he is really good at bringing perspective.

A three dimensional drawing suggests depth or distance.

Perspective is defined as “a particular way of regarding something.” In drawing or painting, it’s a way of portraying three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface by suggesting depth or distance.

In our often complex Extension work, perspective is a tool that can yield valuable, tangible results if we employ it correctly. For example, let’s say we’re helping a small business, non-profit, or local government agency do some strategic planning. Our very presence brings an outside perspective—an “etic” as defined in the social science research literature (see Pike, 1967). This perspective contrasts with the “emic” (or internal view) that people, groups, and organizations inherently hold. Morris, et al (1999) described the emic/etic perspectives in terms of cultural phenomena. But the construct holds in strategic planning which is, of course, set within an organization’s culture.

In practice, some consultants will (falsely) jump to the conclusion that the emic perspective is clouded by insiders being too involved to clearly see and articulate a solution (e.g., not being able to see the forest because of the trees in the way). But be cautious of this thinking. It can land short. The consultant might advise the organization to abandon “process X” in favor of “process Z”… wreaking havoc at multiple levels.

Instead, I suggest a combined approach. Use your outside etic perspective to gather data, observe systemic processes, and look for solutions to suggest. But first, ask your client for their internal emic view. Then, you can overlay your perspective and co-construct a better overall solution together.

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